“The Brothers Karamazov novel was the epitome of Dostoevsky’s creative development, the acme of the philosophic investigation carried out by this colossal and restless mind throughout his life. For the last two decades, observing the march of the contemporary history of our country, I have kept getting convinced again and again of the all-time relevance of this work of literature regarded as the spiritual will and testament of the great writer.

Expanding the potential of body language as a way of exploring the inner world of man, we offer our vision of the key ideas of the novel. Beyond Sin both carries on and develops the tradition of the psychological ballet art and strives to accomplish another equally complicated task – to create a choreographic art equivalent to the subject so masterfully investigated by Dostoevsky – that of the racking burden of destructive passions and of bad heredity.

The Beyond Sin ballet is an attempt to study the origins of the moral catastrophe of the Karamazovs, to understand the primal essence of the ‘excessively broad’ human nature, the mystery of the inner life of human hearts and souls where ‘God and Devil are fighting.’ Having, on principle, rejected the idea of putting on stage all story lines of the novel, I focused on the process of creating choreographic insights into the souls of the main characters beset with internal conflicts.

In The Brothers Karamazov there is expressed a pivotal idea: if there is no God then ‘all things are lawful.’ Our modern times could be comprehensively described with a different expression: ‘God exists, and yet all things are lawful.’ For this very reason time is now ripe to rethink the issues and problems which haunted Fyodor Dostoevsky and his heroes. A search for the ways to the happiness of mankind, the price to be paid for such a harmony, the power of vice and sin over man, the nature of true faith – one who seriously ponders over these topics simply cannot cherish hopes for attaining absolute truth. But touching upon them we are step by step moving toward a better understanding of ourselves in this imperfect and ever-changing world.”

Boris Eifman

Boris Eifman - Artistic Director of St. Petersburg Eifman Ballet

People’s Artist of Russia, the Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation, the laureate of the Golden Mask and the Golden Soffit awards, the holder of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 2nd class.

Boris Eifman, the founder and creator of his own theater, his own style, and his own ballet universe, who is called “one of the leading choreographers in the world” and an “amazing magician of the theater”, was born in 1946 in Siberia, into a family that was connected neither with ballet nor the theatre. From early childhood, however, he wanted to express his feelings and his thoughts in body language, in dance. He himself would later say, “For me, ballet is more than a profession. It is a means of existence, my mission on this earth. Using its resources, I am compelled to convey what is given to me from on high. Most likely, I would simply suffocate on my emotions if I didn’t have the possibility of expressing them through art. For me, choreography is art that is deeply religious, in the broadest sense of the word.”

The innate sense of movement and the “instinct to compose” brought him to the Leningrad Conservatory, where he studied in the Choreography Department, and then to the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, where he worked for ten years as a choreographer, composing new works for student performances. Finally, in 1977, he formed his own ballet ensemble. This is the moment when the Eifman story began, as, with his talent, with his blood and sweat, with his energy, dedicating himself a full twenty four hours a day, he began to create his own theatre.

Eifman brilliantly combined cutting-edge achievements in the world of ballet with what he learned in the academic school of classical Russian choreography, to which he traces his roots. “What I do can be called the dance of emotions, free dance, a new language, in which classical ballet, modern dance, ecstatic impulses and many other things are interwoven…,” he said at the time. His dancers, who had an exclusively academic grounding, had to acquire a new vocabulary of body movement. It was a completely different kind of choreography, whose fundamental principle came into being as the troupe was formed by Eifman.

Eifman Ballet was established by Boris Eifman in 1977 (the original name of the company was the Leningrad New Ballet). The concept of the New Ballet was more than innovative for its time: from the first days of its work it was conceived and developed as an experimental laboratory, a ballet theatre for one choreographer.

The company’s first performances such as Two-Voice and Boomerang brought success and stirred intense interest of the audience; ballet critics began arguing about new tendencies in the Russian ballet. Advocates of the traditional ballet school, however, were rather reluctant to acknowledge the young choreographer’s authority. Eifman’s novelty in how he chose literary basis and music for his ballets, the audacity of the body movement vocabulary secured for him the reputation of “a choreographic dissident”.

In late 70s – early 80s Eifman’s theatre is working out its own individual approach to repertoire formation. More and more new ballets based on the world classical literature appear on the playbill. The choreographer and his company, characterised by an outstanding dance intellect, explore new genres. Boris Eifman creates performances whose distinguishing feature is the strikingly sharp choreographic patterns, intended to express the fiery passions of ballets’ characters: The Duel, The Idiot, The Mad March Day, or the Marriage of Figaro, The Legend, The Twelfth Night, Master and Margarita, Murderers etc.

Today St. Petersburg Eifman Ballet is renowned among ballet lovers in Asia, Europe, the Americas and in Australia for such ballets as Tchaikovsky;I, Don Quixote;Red Giselle, Russian Hamlet, Anna Karenina, The Seagull, Onegin, Rodin, Beyond Sin, Requiem and Up & Down. These works were generally recognised. Not only they represent the highest artistic level of achievements of the contemporary Russian ballet, but also turn the audience to the immortal spiritual heritage of Russian and world culture that inspired the choreographer and his dancers.

Boris Eifman’s endeavour to engage his spectators in the infinite world of human passions, to form a spiritual liaison with the audience, to amaze viewers by the brilliance and dynamism of his plastique – all this has ensured a decades-long success of Eifman Ballet’s performances at leading venues around the globe.

Boris Eifman is a philosopher choreographer. He is earnestly concerned with the problems of today, with the secrets of creativity. The choreographer speaks openly with his audience about the complicated and dramatic aspects of human life; he defines his genre as “psychological ballet”. The New York Times calls Boris Eifman the leader among living choreographers: “The ballet world in search of a major choreographer need search no more. He is Boris Eifman.”

The company is distinguished by its brilliant technique, unique dedication and high onstage intelligence. Today excellent dancers, winners of international ballet contests and laureates of the Russian Government prizes in the field of culture, holders of the prestigious Golden Mask and Golden Soffit awards, implement Boris Eifman’s ideas: Oleg Gabyshev, Dmitry Fisher, Nina Zmievets, Lyubov Andreyeva, Anastasia Sitnikova, Sergey Volobuev and others.

An important period in the company’s life began in 2011, when the Government of St. Petersburg took a decision to launch the construction of the Boris Eifman Dance Academy – a project originally initiated by the choreographer himself. In September 2013 the Academy announced the start of its first academic year.

Another Eifman-initiated ballet institution is to be built and opened in St. Petersburg in the near future. It is the Boris Eifman Dance Palace envisioned by Boris Eifman as a new world center of dance arts.

Forming an original ballet repertoire of modern Russia based upon the rich traditions of Russian psychological theatre, along with searching for and developing new forms of choreography of the XXI century are among the key priorities within the artistic mission of Boris Eifman and his brilliant company.

Synopsis

Act I

For all the multitude of differences which divide them, Dmitri, Ivan and Alyosha are linked to each other by invisible threads: for the ‘stinking, sinful’ blood of their father, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, runs in their veins. The monk Alyosha tries in vain to soften the impact of passions which have got out of hand. He is an observer of the bitter rivalry between his father and brother Dmitri for the favors of Grushenka, of his father's constant drunken orgies, of his willingness to entangle everyone in a sin of lust.

A series of scandals are replaced by rare moments of peace, in that the brothers’ hearts are filled with shrill image of the mother, but then feud is erupted with renewed force But not only is Alyosha incapable of helping his nearest and dearest, he too discovers within himself to an increasing degree the despicable traits of ‘Karamazovshchina’.

The whole family is drawn into the battle for Grushenka between Fyodor Pavlovich and Dmitri. Fyodor Pavlovich is killed... and Dmitri is accused of his father's murder.

Act II

Ivan and Alyosha argue endlessly about the meaning of existence and about human soul. Their argument assumes material form in the figures of the Grand Inquisitor and of Christ, who has come back to the sinful world, in the legend composed by Ivan. The Inquisitor-Ivan asserts that only tyranny can give people ‘weak creatures such as they have been created, peaceful, humble happiness.’ But Christ-Alyosha wishes to free people of their fear and to provide them with ‘a free heart so that they may determine what is good and what is evil.’

Grushenka is covered by the sacrificial impulse and desire for the complete purification, she comes to the prison to Dmitri. Innocently convicted, he is hardly going through a separation from his beloved.

Ivan is lacerated by pangs of conscience: he accuses himself of having harbored a wish to kill his father. Reality and fantasy become confused in his mind…

Ivan and Alyosha come to visit Dmitri. Here, in the prison bars, the brothers cognize kinship.

Dmitri has dreams about wedding with Grushenka, but it’s impossible to take her in his arms – the ruthless awakening comes.

Alyosha is unable to watch human suffering and, driven by love for his fellow men, he frees the convicts incarcerated in ‘The House of the Dead’. Their heads reeling from the belief that ‘all things are lawful’ to them, the convicts destroy everything on their path.

The family come to a dreadful end: Fyodor Pavlovich is murdered, Dmitri is in jail, Ivan goes off his head, Alyosha is made responsible for the fate of numerous innocent victims... But, however far sinful man may fall, he may be saved if he repents for his sins.